The Dallas Mavericks lost to a Milwaukee Bucks team that did not have Giannis Antetokounmpo in the starting lineup and still couldn’t find a way to compete for four quarters in a 123-99 defeat. 

Sure, some Mavericks fans will convince themselves this is all part of a bigger plan. Every loss helps the draft position. Every ugly night improves the odds of adding another young piece next to Cooper Flagg. That may be true in the long term.

But in the short term? Allowing Kuzma and AJ Green to combine for 37 points is embarrassing.

Flagg finished with a double-double,  19 points and 10 rebounds,  but he shot just 6-of-19 from the field (32 percent) marking his second straight game shooting under 40%. For a rookie who once looked like he had a real chance to make a late push in the NBA’s Rookie of the Year race, the recent slump has likely slammed that door shut.

Still, this is where context matters.

It’s difficult to fairly judge Flagg right now when the Mavericks are essentially asking him to carry a roster that often looks closer to a G League lineup than an NBA rotation. His second-leading scorer Tuesday was Brandon Williams (18 points), who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. John Poulakidas was the only other Mavericks to score over 10 points.

That’s not development. That’s survival.

Flagg deserves criticism when he plays poorly, and his efficiency has dipped at the wrong time. But it’s hard to evaluate the full picture of his rookie season when he’s being asked to create, score, rebound and stabilize an offense that too often gives him little help.

That burden is also starting to shine a light on the Mavericks’ other young pieces.

Max Christie has shown flashes since arriving in Dallas and remains one of the more intriguing developmental players on the roster. But he shot just 1-of-12 against Milwaukee and has struggled for much of March, shooting just 38.6 percent from the field for the month. If Dallas is serious about building around Flagg, it needs players like Christie to become more reliable, not just occasionally promising.

That’s what the rest of this season is really about now. Not the standings. Not the play-in. Not pretending this group has one last run in it.

It’s about figuring out who can actually help Flagg once the games start to matter again.

Dallas returns home to face the Orlando Magic on Friday at the American Airlines Center.